As a beginner, when the splinters happen I think "look, this tool is giving problems with the grain, you just don't understand what's going on here." But to watch the very experienced person have the same problem and say "splinter coming off, that means we need to try the tool in this other way" is the most helpful thing. Thank you for posting these videos.
After watching Richard hollow this vessel with bowl gouges and scrapers, I am wondering why I spent so much money on hollowing tools? I have thoroughly enjoyed all his videos. I find that his down-to-business approach is refreshing and very informative. Keep the videos coming, Richard.
It is nice to know that you are still willing to push yourself as a turner. Even if this is not your "comfort zone" your knowledge of how the wood work and the presentation of the tool to it shows the years of experience you have in turning. Think you for sharing your knowledge. This information is invaluable to any turner that watches this video. Thank you.
Very beautiful vase! I love when the wood collapses around the figured area of the wood. Lots of great tips on hollowing such a shape----as always, a masterclass! Many thanks Richard!
Amazing work. Hollowing a vessel with a square scraper? Wow! I always enjoy your work even as I’m always nervous because you take such aggressive cuts into the wood. One can only hope to have your turning skills. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I love that you do not use any fancy tools and share how things can be done with the basic tools everyone already has. Woodturning as a hobby is quite expensive already. It's nice to achieve more with what you already have!
Really like the shape of this vase and the way it moved as it dried. The orange flame in part of the wood almost looks like the box elder we have here.
Good job Richard!!! You are an excellent teacher. I used your book to learn about turning when I first started doing it. Thank you for the video and the book.
Thank you for the knowledge it saves us journeymen so to speak a lot of head scratching. Also love your honest videos. And willing to just go at it and see what works instead of taking the oh no you don’t do that with a grain and seeing for yourself if it really is bad or not. LOVE IT!!!!
Thank you for such an inside view of what you were thinking as you were doing; it's an incredibly valuable video. I wonder if you might explicitly comment on traditional tools vs. carbide (since this hollowing seems to be done most frequently with hollowing carbide tools)?
Carbide tools are ridicuously expensive compared to HSS and although they might hold a reasonably sharp edge for a bit longer than HSS they soon lose the edge necessary for finishing cuts. Carbide cutters are not so easy or as quick to sharpen as traditional tools. I've found that traditional scrapers, gouges and skew chisels cut way, way, cleaner which means a heap less sanding and investment in abrasives and less time sanding. I reckon carbide tools generally make turning more laborious rather than easy. They are a triumph of marketing over substance, as are negative rake scrapers.
As usual, this is a great video Richard, thank you! On a technical note, the resolution is only 480p - while that's watchable, it's great to have higher resolutions available. Thanks again!
I uploaded a 1080x608 file as recommended. I don't know what 480p means in relation to that. Perhaps you can email me via www.richardraffan.com.au/contact/
Unless I'm missing something, it seems the problem isn't mine but something you have to solve for yourself: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2feCiGzIhhg.html
I realize that this is an older video, but have you tried microwaving the bowls about a minute or 1 1/2 at a time. You can finish the bowl in one day this way. Check Richard Raffins videos for reference. He has great luck with this method
Not so much luck these days as 40 years of microwaving experience drying green-turned bowls: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZvZ5k4IzqpQ.html
Where are all your Jarrah pieces, Richard? it's pretty much all i have access to over her in the west. Heaps of well seasoned old pergola jarrah. What Aussie timbers are forgiving to turn with?
Thank you for demonstrating the various traditional tools used for deep hollowing. As always watching your videos and reading your books, I have learned a lot. what the name of the caliper that use to measure wall thickness?
Thanks again for a very nice demonstration of how to go about things. I also liked the "get rid of what you don't want and see what you can do with the rest" part. An earlier commenter asked about carbide hollowing tools. I know you started and formed your habits without them being available but what is your general opinion of carbide tools?
I've never found carbide tools hold a really good edge for very long, so they're okay for hogging waste out of bowls and hollow forms. I reckon I can get done what I want to do faster with my more traditional scrapers and gouges.
Richard, love your videos as always. I'm sure you've had your calipers for years. Would you know any good sources to buy some, particularly in Australia? Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Both sets of thickness calipers come from Lee Valley. I purchased the larger whilst teaching in Calgary about 10 years ago, the smaller were gifted to me by an American friend late last year. I believe Carbatec have them on back order.
If you had made a flat shoulder on your tenon for the front face of your jaws to reference against, wouldn’t the loss of concentricity you experienced at 8:30 have been greatly reduced/eliminated? It doesn’t take you long to clean up, but that and a more secure grip less prone to the kind of movement due to different jaws biting to different depths seems to make a shoulder worthwhile.
@@RichardRaffanwoodturning interesting. Thank you for this insight in particular, and all of these videos in general. I am learning a lot from them, and definitely find them inspiring.
I very much appreciate the running commentary and sometimes self-criticisms you make during the turning; thank you. Regarding filling small cracks with CA glue, I understood you to say that such repairs do not last. I have heard that some professional turners do not use CA glue when they are concerned about retaining lasting quality for pieces destined for museum collections, but vases such as this one are, I believe, intended for utilitarian purposes. Would using CA glue in such cases really matter? Is there solid evidence that CA glue does not hold up over time?
I've experienced CA not holding up many times so use 5-minute epoxy if I do fill splits. The knot I fixed with CA loosened regularly every few years until the bowl broke. A kaleidoscope made by a well-known American literally fell apart as have parts of another, all made using CA. And I was reliable informed that many museums have had segmented pieces turned in the 1980s fall apart. I make things to last and see no reason why this vase shouldn't be around in several hundred years, like many of my bowls.
@@RichardRaffanwoodturning What's your experience with using PVA glue and sanding over the crack - the PVA combines with the sawdust and masks the crack. I think your pieces are all museum standard!
@@billstanley5317 I don't know much about PVA, let alone in cracks. I've never been interested in filling splits and masking cracks. If I do fill a split it will be with African blackwood powder mixed with 5-minute epoxy. I can guarantee that not all my work is 'museum standard', no matter how that might be defined, although since the mid-1970s my work has been acquired for major public and private collections in Britain, Europe, Australasia and North America. The Australian National Gallery first purchased some of my bowls in 1977 and later a set of spillikins.
Probably not primarily on the grounds that hollowing into endgrain is such hard work. On top of that, endgrain is not as strong as crossgrain and the grain patterns rarely as interesting.
That's always a concern if you tighten the tailcentre more than necessary. I use the tail centre to support the job rather than force it against the drive. More fragile forms are mounted into a jam chuck, typically a rough-turned bowl. Also this is crossgrain which is much stronger in this situation than endgrain.
Thanks for the video. I was wondering if I could ask a few questions on scrapers. Which type of steel do you find works with scrapers? If you were to reshape the scraper blade such as your shear scraper would you shape the blade on CBN or the old Norton grinding wheels? Take care Cheers Harold
My scrapers are mostly Henry Taylor HSS with a few P&N that are no longer commercially available. I think most are M2. I reshape on the coarse (60 grit??) carborundum wheel you see in ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jg0i27WuPXQ.html. If I had a more aggresive grinding wheel or belt, I'd use that for shaping.
A goose neck carbide tool would work for the hollowing but I doubt very seriously Richard owns, or would consider using, a carbide insert tool. If it works for you then go for it.
I do occasionaly use Kelton Undercutters but very rarely use my gooseneck scrapers. I find conventional scrapers a lot faster and use gouges whenever possible for a much clean surface off the tool and consequently less sanding.
I use several tools to hollow this vase and I KNOW I tell you which tool I'm using as I'm about to use it. I cannot remember which tools I used in this video other than there were gouges and scrapers.
